There is an ever-increasing demand and need for protective covering systems for running electrical cables in a building and specifically when it is necessary to extend the cable along an interior wall or floor surface.
Various cover systems have been devised to the end of simplifying their construction, reducing the time and labor necessary for installation of the cable and cover system and at the same time making the cover system as versatile as possible so as to be conformable for use in interior and exterior surfaces of a building.
In the past, various approaches have been taken to the construction of a snap-together clip and cover assembly. Typically, the clip is the base member which is anchored to the wall surface and preferably as close as possible to a baseboard or other molding strip so as to blend with the trim or molding and not unduly detract from the appearance of the wall. Among other problems associated with present designs is to maintain adequate but uniform spacing between the clip or base member and the adjacent molding so that when the cover is engaged over the clip the cover will be in abutting relation, or substantially so, to the molding. Furthermore, it is desirable to incorporate into the clip a temporary retainer for positioning and retaining the cable in position within the clip preliminary to installation of the cover; and it is desirable that the retainers be formed as a unitary part of the clip member and particularly to be able to use the existing sidewall of the clip which can be bent into position over the cable so that the cable will not accidentally slip out of the clip as the cover is being installed.
Another desirable feature of cover assemblies of the type described is to so construct the clip and protective cover that the cover will spring into snap-fit relation to the clip so as to be securely retained against accidental separation; yet the parts may be positively released with the aid of an entry tool or key as well as to discourage attempts by unauthorized personnel to open or release the cover to gain access to the cable. For example, it has been proposed to establish interfitting engagement between a cover and clip by means of complementary sidewalls and to provide some form of temporary retainer for electrical cables within the clip portion. Representative patents are U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,124 to D. Santucci, U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,314 to D. E. Mock, U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,257 to P. W. Taylor and U.S. Pat. No. 1,217,398 to W. A. Bonnell. There is lacking any suggestion of employing tightly doubled-over metal flange portions which are capable of springing into snap-fit abutting relation to one another or to slot the flange portions at spaced intervals to form temporary retainers for the cable.
It has been proposed in the past to provide for interfitting sidewalls between a cover and clip in which the sidewalls of the cover substantially overlap the clip member and require some form of re-entry tool or key to release the cover, reference being made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,580 to J. B. Trautwein. However, in the present invention it is proposed to establish interfitting engagement between complementary, doubled-over flange portions between the sidewalls of a cover and clip in such a way as to discourage unauthorized removal or release of the cover but at the same time enable positive release through the utilization of a novel and improved re-entry tool.
Other patents of interest are U.S. Pat. No. 2,039,886 to A. Cohn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,195 to A. M. Schwab, U.S. Pat. No. 1,189,208 to F. C. Hodkinson and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,262,083 and 3,721,762 to G. A. Gooding.